Legitimate Candidates Belong in Gubernatorial Debates

By Co-Chair Barbara Dahlgren

Tonight (Friday, October 19th) the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) held a debate for the gubernatorial candidates, but they had no intention of including any of the other candidates who are on the ballot. All candidates filled out the appropriate paperwork and collected at least 2,000 signatures to legitimize their campaigns for ballot access; yet, the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association believes attaching a dollar amount and corporate poll numbers (which often don’t include parties and candidates besides the Democratic and Republican candidates) are better deciding factors than the Constitution and the judgement of Wisconsinites to determine who they want to lead Wisconsin.

The Green Party and Dr. White’s gubernatorial campaign object to the WBA’s undemocratic omissions of candidates. The American tradition of debates should not be a private affair. Debates should be public events where all candidates can present their ideas in equal time to the public.